The Fall of the Bright Lord(2)

Effie, Caster, and Kai descended into the basement where Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie were. A round table was set up, with several chairs around it. The cohort sat around the round table, looking at Nephis, waiting for her to speak. Nephis spoke, breaking the silence:

"As you've heard from Sunny, Gunlaug intends to attack us or at least try to distract us and destroy what we've built so that his rule and system remain intact. He might do this today, or in a few days — we might see him tomorrow at the gate with a crowd of helpless Sleepers… so we have to attack him before he attacks us. But we can't kill him just like that without witnesses. If Gunlaug dies without witnesses, many people will covet his position. Therefore, we must make his death witnessed by everyone."

Nephis fell silent, giving those around her time to think. After a few moments, Caster asked:

"Why do we have to kill Gunlaug? I mean, it's true he's a tyrant and has killed many, but… don't we still need him later on?"

The cohort turned their gazes toward Caster. Each one of them wore an expression of disdain and doubt. Kai pointed at Caster and spoke:

"You want us to keep that bastard alive?! He killed people and used them like puppets — he's a tyrant and a murderer. What about the women he treats like concubines? What about the skulls hanging on the castle walls for us to see? And you want us to keep him alive?!"

"Why are you bringing that up? This is a matter we've already settled. Neph and I have decided that Gunlaug will die, and he will die. Nothing will change that. He will pay the price for what he has done."

Caster lowered his head in regret after being reprimanded by Sunny. It was Cassie's turn to speak about the plan.

"We've been talking about toppling Gunlaug and making sure every Sleeper sees it, but we haven't talked about how and when… Gunlaug won't allow a large number of us to enter the castle,"

Sunny spoke.

" Who said that we need Gunlaug's ‏ ‏permission? We already have allies inside the castle they can deal with the Guards"

About three hundred Sleepers gathered inside the walls of the Outer Settlement. These were the Sleepers who were skilled in combat or at least had the ability to stay alive. These Sleepers were ordered to assemble near the gate and remain silent until Changing Star arrives.

The murmuring Sleepers all understood the single meaning of gathering such a number: they were headed toward the Bright Castle. This was not good news at all, as they would have to fight the guards and hunters, and worse than that, they would first have to breach the castle. But they trusted Changing Star— and the crazy bastard Sunless.

The murmurs quieted when six figures approached and stood in front of the gate. Nephis looked at the crowd, her face calm. Beside her stood Sunny, appearing lazily. Nephis spoke in a loud voice so that all the Sleepers could hear her:

"I am Changing Star from The Immortal Flame Clan. When I first came to this

Forgotten hell, I promised you salvation and that we would all return to the waking World. And today, we will take the first step toward our freedom! Follow me so we can bring down the tyrant Gunlaug!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and the name of the Changing Star echoed loudly. This was a simple trick to make the crowd feel confident. The gates of the Outer Settlement opened, and Sunny advanced in front of the crowd, heading toward the Bright Castle.

Three hundred Sleepers streamed out of the gates of the Outer Settlement, each wearing armor either made from parts of monsters or its a Memory, gripping their weapons with stern expressions on their faces.

The army of Sleepers moved from the base of the hill, following their leader, toward the Bright Castle where the Bright Lord resided. At the top of the hill, Sunny was watching a group of maidservants drugging the guards using needles tipped with some strange liquid.

"That's quite a skill… I knew they were taught dangerous things besides cleaning and organizing!"

Sunny stopped at the gate, looking at the drugged guards. The maidservants nodded their heads at him and continued dragging the guards away and covering them so that no one would spot them from afar. Sunny entered the Bright Castle and waited for the army of Sleepers to advance. He also had something to do.

Sunny summoned the Saint. The black-armored knight appeared beside him, looking at him questioningly.

"Hello, Saint. There's someone I want you to kidnap. Preferably alive… He's a hunchback and looks like a cold-blooded killer. You'll recognize him at first sight. You just have to look for him."

The Saint moved and disappeared into the shadows, beginning her mission. In front of the gates of the Bright Castle, the army of Sleepers advanced and began entering the castle. Sunny looked at the sun, which was about to set, signaling the end of the day — and also the end of an old era.

"This feels kind of poetic."

Nephis approached Sunny, who was staring at the sky, and asked:

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes. They're in the hall. All you have to do is kill Gunlaug to prove yourself."

"That'll be a little difficult… but not that hard. After all, I've become a tyrant."

"Then good luck to you. As for me, I'm going to go hunt some troublemakers."

Nephis moved toward the hall, and Sunny followed her. He wanted to make a dramatic entrance and an idea came to his mind. As they neared the hall, Sunny summoned the serpent. Nephis and the Sleepers were startled by this action, but Sunny signaled them to remain calm.

"What is that?! Why does this pale bastard have such a terrifying Echo?"

The serpent let out a low hiss that caused the Sleepers to shut their mouths. Inside the hall, voices rose, and people began to move. Sunny didn't wait long, as five shadows slipped from him into the serpent, and suddenly the air around them grew colder, and an overwhelmingly terrifying presence descended upon them. The serpent raised its head, easily breaking the ceiling, and continued to rise before slamming its body down onto the area where the hall was.

Stones and splinters of wood flew everywhere under the serpent's crushing weight. The Sleepers standing at the edges of the hall trembled, and no one inside the hall spoke; they simply shrank back in fear of provoking the terror that had descended upon them. And at the far end of the hall, on a throne, sat a man covered from head to toe in golden armor, with four of his lieutenants behind him. The man spoke in a loud voice:

"So, you've come to destroy what I have built and spill the blood of my people, Changing Star? And you, Herald of Death… is this creature your pet?"

Gunlaug did not seem nervous, and this made the Sleepers want to curse him. Was he blind or what? Did he not see the serpent, tens of meters long, hissing at him, with hundreds of Sleepers standing behind it, weapons in hand and fierce smiles on their faces?

"Gunlaug you have killed too many and done too many horrible things…you prevented the Sleepers from living the life they deserve and your biggest sin is that you gave up"

"You, girl, say all that… and what will you give the people who follow you? An honorable death at the gates of the Crimson Spire? And even if we say you succeed in killing the Spire guardian, only a handful of Sleepers will survive. So enough talk!"

Gunlaug advanced in his golden armor to the space between the two groups, where Nephis stood. His armor flowed and formed into a massive axe. Nephis moved, and the Dream blade collided with the axe, sending five streams of fire surging and merging with it. Gunlaug staggered from the force but didn't give up, attacking with even greater ferocity. Throughout this time, Nephis tried not to look directly at his armor as she fought him.

"Ah… this is boring. Let's go catch a big fish."

Sunny slipped into the shadows and moved, and no one immediately noticed his disappearance. So he had all the time he needed to reach Gunlaug's lieutenants. To distract the crowd's attention, he had the serpent let out a thunderous roar. Sunny approached Tessai, Gemma, Sieshan, and Kido.

These lieutenants were watching the decisive battle, and three of them were strangely calm. Meanwhile, Tessai looked calm but couldn't stop himself from clenching his fists. Sunny slipped out of the shadows and placed [promise of solace] at Tessai's neck and spoke.

"Ah, hello there, big guy. As you can see, Gunlaug is about to die. So if you want to stay alive and get out of this hell, listen to what I'm saying, okay?"

"Al… alright."

Sunny pressed the blade slightly into Tessai's neck, causing a thin line of blood to trickle down.

"First, let's see… I know that you love power and want to take Gunlaug's place. But you're not going to be stupid enough to try to fight me, right? Second, I don't want to kill you, but if I have to, you'll simply die. That's how it is. I don't need you — But you are the one who needs me to get out of here alive. So be a good big guy and stay calm until all of this is over."

Sunny let Tessai Go, who was sweating profusely, and looked at Gemma, Kido, and Sieshan. Those three were absorbed in the fight between Nephis and Gunlaug. Beside him, the Saint appeared and dropped a bloated man who'd been badly beaten and was unconscious. Sunny looked at Haros, battered and bruised, and handed the Saint a collar to put around his neck.

And far from them, in the middle of the two groups, Nephis's sword blazed with fire as she plunged it deep into Gunlaug's armor. The blood that gushed from the wound evaporated, and Gunlaug let out a groan as he knocked her sword away with the massive axe. Nephis kicked Gunlaug hard, sending him crashing into the throne.

She ran at him, plunging the flaming sword into his armored chest. Steam billowed from the wound, and Gunlaug's armor boiled violently in an attempt to seal the gash. Nephis lifted her sword from his chest and spoke words to Gunlaug. Gunlaug tried to say something, but he choked on his blood and couldn't express himself. Sunny sighed at this sight.

"The hard part is over. Now comes the harder part."

The giant serpent let out a deafening roar that struck fear into the hearts of the Sleepers, followed by the voice of a young man:

"Sleepers! Gunlaug is dead. And if you want to die with him, I'll kill you! But if you want to live and leave this cursed Forgotten Shore, drop your weapons and organize yourselves!"

A weapon fell, followed by several others. The Sleepers had already been hesitant to fight Humans, and none of the lieutenants or commanders had given them any orders. They didn't want to fight that terrifying serpent, nor the Changing Star, nor the Herald of Death. There were still rumors saying that he had slain a Corrupted monster on their previous mission.

Sunny turned his head and seemed as though he was staring straight through the walls. He was looking west — and only west.